442014 Engineering and Technology Publishing

Echolocation with Sensors on Via Its

Development in Mexico

Rafael Navarrete Escalera1, M. F. Rocha

1, A. Alma Huerta

1, M. Rosario Osnaya1

, M. I. Rocha G2, and E.

Andrade3

1ESIME, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, U.P. A.L. Mateos, G. A. Madero, México D.F. 07738, México.

2Grupo de Fenómenos Ondulatorios, Departamento de Ingeniería Electrónica, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia,

España. 3Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Email: mrocha@ipn.mx, mosnayab@hotmail.com, marocga@doctor.upv.es andrade@fisica.unam.mx

Abstract—Currently humans have a skill that most people

have not developed that would use unconsciously called

echolocation. It is crucial for independent mobility of blind

and involves using self-produced sounds and reflections to

locate and recognize objects that are not. Two new

paradigms have enriched the study of this remarkable

ability: the coupling of sensorimotor and sensory

substitution. The first holds that perceptual and motor

systems are coupled processes that require a unified

treatment unavoidable. The second considers it possible to

see with your ears or skin under brain plasticity. The

subject is present in the context of embodied cognition

theory and recent advances in neuroscience are developed

further studies in the third period. This review will reflect

paradigm shifts in the behavioral sciences and the scientific

value of increased human echolocation. The operation

resembles echolocation of active sonar, the animal emits a

sound that bounces when an obstruction and analyzes the

received echo. Achieves well, knowing the distance to the

object (or objects), by measuring the time delay between the

signal issued and you have received. This type of research

was also a method used in military research in World War

two.

Index Terms—echolocation, sensory substitution, distance,

location, sensorimotor

I. INTRODUCTION

Echolocation a solution to the visual limitations

applied in Mexico, has a number of benefits that are

applied technologies to link the sound, acoustics,

engineering, the same echolocation and especially

technological innovations.

It is shown that through the human ear has been able to

do that recognize brain waves through echoes locating

things in different places. This applied physics studies on

the behavior of the waves, the echo and especially

relevant calculations for this, besides the sound

knowledge in all areas.

The development of the human ear and allows us to

distinguish both the qualities of sound (timbre, tone and

volume) as your address, that is, the position in space of

Manuscript received January 13, 2014; revised September 8, 2014.

the source. Not all sounds are perceived by the human ear,

because it can only detect frequencies between 20 Hz and

20,000 Hz. The sounds with frequencies higher than the

human ear to detect the ultrasonic called can be captured

by some animals (dogs, dolphins or bats). In the same

way, sounds extremely serious, below 20 Hz, are not

captured by the human ear, but by other animals, such as

whales.

The ear is divided into three parts: outer, middle and

inner. Outer ear: consists of the pinna (ear), ear canal and

eardrum. Sound waves are collected by the flag that leads

through the ear canal to the eardrum. Middle ear cavity is

bounded by the drum on the one hand, and the base of the

cochlea on the other. Inside are three small bones, called

the hammer, anvil and stirrup. The hammer head bears

against the eardrum and vibrations transmitted through

the anvil to the stirrup. In turn the latter rests on one of

the two membranes which close the cochlea, the oval

window.

Figure 1. Parts of the ear

Inner ear is a hermetic cavity whose interior is flooded

by fluid called lymph. It consists of three elements: the

semicircular canals, the vestibule and cochlea. The

semicircular canals are not directly related to the hearing

have to do with balance. The vibrations of the oval

window of the hall are transformed into the cochlea. The

signals from the cochlea are coded and transformed into

electrochemical impulses that spread via the auditory

nerve to the brain Fig. 1.

What we call sound is a "disturbance" propagating in

the material (gas, liquid and solid) and our sense of

doi: 10.12720/jolst.2.1.44-47

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452014 Engineering and Technology Publishing

hearing can perceive. Therefore not propagate in a

vacuum. The "gap" is the realm of "silence". However, it

can be used as a vehicle there through to electromagnetic

waves (of very different nature) and thus achieve their

diffusion [1].

II. METHODOLOGY

A. Sound Power Level

Is a parameter that measures the way it is perceived

acoustic power (volume).

People do not perceive a linear change (increase /

decrease) in power as they approach / away from the

source. The perception of power is a feeling that is

proportional to the logarithm of that power. This

logarithmic relationship is the sound power level:

1

w

0

WL 10*log

W (1)

W1 = the power to study,

W0 = is the hearing threshold power, which expressed

in SI units, equivalent to 10-12 watts or 1 pW, which is

taken as fixed reference.

As is normally used its submultiple, the decibel (dB),

so to get the result directly would have to multiply the

second term of the formula for 10.

To add sounds not correct to add the values of the

power levels or pressure: they join powers or pressures

that cause them. Thus, two sound sources give 21 dB 42

dB but not 24 dB.

In this case the formula is used:

1 2

10 1010 10 10

X X

presL log dB

(2)

This is the same:

1 210 log log10 10

 pres

X XL log anti anti dB

(3)

where:

Lpress= the resultant pressure level

X1 = values of pressure levels to add, expressed in

decibels.

These formulas become levels in their physical

expressions (power or pressure and, after adding) these,

again find coupled expression level [2].

Echolocation and are considered active touch closed

loop behavior, alluding to the system control or closed

loop feedback, which has a relationship established

between the output and the reference input, comparing

and using as a control difference, to reduce the error and

make the output of the system to a suitable value.

In this type of perceptual behavior, subject to control

modulates action perception, the reverse of what happens

in open loop behavior (the output does not affect the

control action), which is the perception that controls

action [3].

This is how the individual looks and build rules given

constant coupling between the action performed and the

subsequent changes that occurs in their feelings.

In echolocation, the action is represented by the

individual exploratory activity performed through self-

generated sounds and movements of head and / or stick

(ie, changes the emission pattern signal and echolocation

/ or motions to optimize capture of the relevant

information).

He feeling is regarding certain tonal percepts and/or

space related to the presence and characteristics of

objects, the person learns (implicitly) as likely to perceive

auditory gestalts [4], [5]

Stoffregen and Pittenger (1995) [6] in an innovative

study analyzed the echolocation from the perspective of

ecological psychology. They noted that virtually no

systematic research on the use of self-generated sounds,

how closely to support and guide action perception, or

what is the parameter that contains relevant information.

They considered that echolocation, the energy of the

stimulus generated by the subject (direct signal) is spread

in the environment and is structured by him to reflect on

environmental objects before returning to the receiver

(reflected signal).

The relevant information is in the relationships

between the patterns of energy output and energy patterns

returning. They argued, as mentioned, that echolocation

and haptic perception are activities in which the action

controls perception (feedback system or closed loop),

exactly the opposite of what happens in other perceptual

behaviors in which the perception guide action (open

loop system).

They argued that certain known physical variables and

other higher order unknown in traditional literature may

underlie this ability. They concluded that this is a skill

used regularly by humans in everyday situations, without

being aware of it. They made a call to the scientific

community to replicate the research in this field using

ecological paradigms of action - perception.

Carlson-Smith and Wiener (1996) [7] devised a battery

of audiometric tests to predict performance efficient

human echolocation. They worked with subjects with

normal vision occluded and found that there was a

positive correlation between particular auditory

measurements, such as the perception of small changes in

intensity and frequency, and performance in echolocation.

In contrast showed no correlation between the

performance and sensitivity for high frequency hearing.

The authors concluded with a number of useful

recommendations for parents and teachers of Orientation

and Mobility.

Rosenblum, and Jarquin Gordon (2000) [8] conducted

one of the first experiments on human echolocation from

an ecological perspective. Based on evidence from

studies on visual perception and previous research on

human echolocation in stationary and dynamic situation,

implemented an action-based model to analyze whether

the participant's movement facilitated the task of judging

distance via echolocation.

Two experiments in an open (15 m by 40 m) relatively

quiet, with few reflective surfaces nearby, using active

locomotion task. Participants with normal vision

occluded repeatedly emitting sounds of your choice (most

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used vocalizations and clicks with his mouth) should

ecolocar wall panel (90 cm x 180 cm) from a stationary

position or while walking towards it.

The experimenter removed the panel after the

participant could locate via echolocation and then asked

to walk to where they had been positioned judged. The

results showed that participants were able to distinguish

quite accurately the distance that was the wall panel that

had received via echolocation.

The tests were somewhat more accurate motion than

the stationary for some distance. The authors discussed

their results in terms of the potential acoustic information

available, both in the static and the dynamic.

B. Mechanisms of Echolocation

The person born or have a severe disability is

immersed in a painful life issues and complex. Visual

impairment-by deep connotations and consequences-is

one of the most disabling and psychologically destructive,

effects that are evident in the area of mobility of the

visually impaired person [9].

There are a variety of "electronic aids" for the blind

person can cope more easily in their daily lives. However,

none has managed to replace or offer the benefits to be

gained from comprehensive systematic training of other's

skills.

Empirical research supported by scientists has shown

that humans have the ability to create mental images of

the environment without using the eyes. Vision and

hearing are close cousins that can process both energy

reflected waves. Vision processes light waves as they

travel from their source, bounce off surfaces through the

atmosphere and into the eyes.

Similarly, the auditory system processes sound waves

as they travel from their source, bounce off surfaces and

enter the ears. Both systems can extract a lot of

information about the environment by interpreting the

complex patterns of reflected energy they receive. In the

case of sound, these waves of reflected energy are called

"echoes".

As already noted, a paradigm of echolocation sounds

generated by the subject is the direct signal and the

echoes, the reflected signal. That is, the primary sound

source is located in the subject itself and the obstacle that

generates reflection, behaves like secondary sound source.

In the literature, and localization of sound localization

barriers are taken to be synonymous. However, strictly

speaking, the first process is involved only in one phase

of echolocation, that is, when it is discriminated obstacle

position (azimuth and elevation) and its relative distance

(phase position).

III. CONCLUSIONS

New approaches to cognitive and ecological study of

the perception that the individual life skills used in

everyday life. From these recent paradigms is considered

that the main function of the auditory system is to

determine characteristics of the sound source and the

sound in the abstract as traditionally held [10].

This complex process involves locating, recognizing

and identifying the sound source from the sounds she

produces (eg family recognize a listening only to walk in

his footsteps, to identify a helicopter just for the sound it

makes).

The electronic devices are often measured in decibels

volume indicators or other arbitrary scale. The VU meter

display instrument called. His reading is often misleading

for two reasons.

The first reason is obvious: the loudness (and the

sound pressure level) is quantities that depend crucially

on the power source and the distance between the source

and the site (where it gets the ear). The second reason is

that the scale of decibleles arbitrary and has no

correlation. The arbitrary scale of zero indicates the

loudness level (power) and optimal operation for the

device.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors acknowledge the Instituto Politécnico

Nacional for being their Alma matter and the Escuela

Superior de Ingeniería Mecánica y Eléctrica and IPN-

PIFI for providing their facilities to conduct this work.

REFERENCES

[1] S. J. Perez Ruiz, “The human ear, does it generate sound,” Science

and Development, no. 122, pp. 52-59, May-June 1995.

[2] K. S. D. Clark and K. Wise, “Pressure sensitivity in anisotropically etched thin-diaphragm pressure sensors,”

Transactions on Electron Devices, vol. 26, no. 12, pp. 1887-1896,

December 1979. [3] S. Alcántara, “Semiconductor pressure sensor,” Thesis for the

degree of Master of Science, CINVESTAV, Department of

Electrical Engineering, Section of Bioelectronics, Mexico DF, 1993.

[4] F. Bermejo, C. Gómez, and C. Arias, “Head movements in direct

and reflected sound localization by trained and untrained participants,” Revista Tesis - Universidad Nacional de Córdoba,

2008, pp. 31-43.

[5] G. Neuweiler, “Auditory adaptations for prey capture in echolocating bats,” Physiological Reviews, vol. 70, no. 3, pp. 615-

641, 1990.

[6] T. A. Stoffregen and J. B. Pittenger, “Human echolocation as a basic form of perception and action,” Ecological Psychology, vol.

7, no. 3, pp. 181-216, 1995.

[7] C. Carlson-Smith and W. R. Wiener, “The auditory skills necessary for echolocation: A new explanation,” Journal of Visual

Impairment and Blindness, vol. 90, no. 1, pp. 21-35, 1996.

[8] L. D. Rosemblum, M. S. Gordon, and L. Jarquin, “Echolocating distance by moving and stationary listeners,” Ecological

Psychology, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 181-206, 2000.

[9] Neural Mechanisms of Echolocation in Bats. [Online]. Available: http://www.neuro.uoregon.edu/wehr/lecturenotes/echolocation%2

0lecture%20notes.pdf

[10] W. Yost, “Auditory image perception and analysis: The basis for hearing,” Hearing Research, vol. 55, pp. 8-18, 1991.

Rafael Navarrete Escalera obtains Degree in Electrical Engineering with specialization in

Instrumentation and Control by ESIME-IPN,

Mexico; He has studied Semester "II-00" of the Master in Mathematics Education Level

by the Center for Research and Advanced Studies. He earned his Master of Arts with a

concentration in Educational Anthropology at

the University of Tepeyac. He is a graduate of the Diploma in Training and Upgrade for the

Journal of Life Sciences and Technologies Vol. 2, No. 1, June 2014

472014 Engineering and Technology Publishing

New Model Teacher Education (IPN-ANUIES). Graduate Project Management in Educational Innovation at the Polytechnic University of

Cataluña, Spain. He has attended various courses specific purpose, as

well as education and training in educational areas, technical and administrative. In ESIME-Zacatenco México served as: professor,

researcher and supervisor; Assistant Director of Educational Services

and Social Integration; Deputy Director of Outreach and Academic Support; Academic Head of Automation and Control Engineering;

Deputy Academic Academic Department of Control Engineering and

Automation; Supervisory Control Theory Course I; and the College of Computing technical served as teacher

Journal of Life Sciences and Technologies Vol. 2, No. 1, June 2014